NIST awards $6M to Carnegie Mellon University to establish AI Cooperative Research Center

U.S. Secretary of Commerce Gina Raimondo announced Sept. 24 that the Department of Commerce’s National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) has awarded $6 million to Carnegie Mellon University to establish a joint center to support cooperative research and experimentation for the test and evaluation of modern AI capabilities and tools. 

The CMU/NIST AI Measurement Science & Engineering Cooperative Research Center (AIMSEC) will seek to advance measurement science for modern AI systems, using stakeholder partnerships in a wide range of application domains — including human services, education, finance, transportation, energy and more —  to test approaches and translate assessment capabilities and methodologies into practice. 

“Artificial intelligence is the defining technology of our generation, and at the Commerce Department we are committed to working with America’s world-class higher education institutions, like Carnegie Mellon University, to advance safe, secure and trustworthy development of AI,” Raimondo said. “I am excited to announce this NIST award of $6 million for Carnegie Mellon to boost research of AI systems and support a new generation of scientists and engineers that will help advance American innovation globally.”

“Carnegie Mellon University is looking forward to partnering with NIST on research and development that will enable the trustworthy deployment of AI-driven decisions and systems," said CMU president Farnam Jahanian. “The work of the center will lead to the development of standards and tools and by filling in this critical missing piece in the nation’s emerging technologies landscape, we will be equipping American businesses, researchers, leaders and consumers to better understand and trust emerging technologies and better utilize AI tools to their full, transformative potential.”

“AI is revolutionizing industries across the board, and it’s critical that we ensure these advancements are safe, reliable, and equitable,” said Congresswoman Summer Lee (PA-12), whose district includes CMU.  “This $6 million grant will help Carnegie Mellon University and its partners lead the charge in developing AI technologies that protect privacy, enhance accountability, and ensure fairness in how these tools are deployed. Pittsburgh has always been at the forefront of technological innovation, and this new center will help ensure that the next generation of AI development is secure, ethical, and beneficial for all.”

Carnegie Mellon University is a pioneer in AI technology development, in the study and analysis of AI deployments as socio-technical systems, and a leader in AI ethics and policy with several hundred faculty already focused on ensuring the safe and responsible development and use of AI. Several research centers and initiatives are expected to coordinate with the AIMSEC, including:

• The Block Center for Technology and Society, which has worked closely with NIST to operationalize the NIST AI Risk Management Framework to better manage the potential risks of AI systems and to support guidelines on red teaming for generative AI.
• The CMU Foundation and Language Model (FLAME) Center, which convenes faculty with deep expertise in the evaluation and safety assessments of generative AI and foundation models.
• The National Center for Calibrated Trust, Measurement and Evaluation (CaTE) at the Software Engineering Institute (SEI), funded by the Department of Defense, which helps the U.S. military assess the trustworthiness of AI systems.
• The Artificial Intelligence Security Incident Response Team (AISIRT), also led by SEI, which monitors and studies vulnerabilities that emerge from advances in AI and machine learning. 

AIMSEC will focus on foundational research and developing AI system-level tooling, metrics, evaluation procedures, development processes and best practices to help AI builders consistently engineer safe AI systems. Its efforts will align with NIST AI priorities including better methods for measuring validity, reliability, safety, privacy and security; accountability, transparency, fairness and explainability; and generative AI evaluation at any stage of development or deployment.

“This new cooperative research center will expand NIST’s knowledge base and fundamental research capacity in AI,” said Under Secretary of Commerce for Standards and Technology and NIST Director Laurie E. Locascio. “Through this partnership, we will strengthen our understanding of foundation models and support new research — and new researchers — in this rapidly evolving field.”

The grant to CMU was awarded through NIST’s Measurement Science and Engineering Research Grant Program, which supports collaborative research that is aligned with NIST’s research objectives. The program seeks to develop a diverse, world-class pool of scientists and engineers to engage in NIST’s measurement science and standards research and to promote understanding of measurement science and standards. 

The new university-wide center will be housed at CMU’s Heinz College of Information Systems and Public Policy and will draw on strengths to support the NIST AI Innovation Lab (NAIIL), a component of NIST’s larger efforts on fundamental AI measurement research and guideline development.